Rep. Harris Pledges Fortune to Revive Senate Race

By ABBY GOODNOUGH

Published: March 16, 2006

Representative Katherine Harris announced late Wednesday that she would not end her flagging campaign for the Senate, saying she would instead invest her $10 million fortune in the race.

''I'm going to put everything on the line,'' Ms. Harris said in an interview on ''Hannity & Colmes'' on the Fox News Channel. ''I'm in this race, and I'm going to win.''

The announcement ended days of speculation about whether Ms. Harris, who gained fame overseeing the presidential recount of 2000 as secretary of state in Florida, would withdraw. She has struggled to raise money and lagged far behind Senator Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent, in the polls, making her party fear that Mr. Nelson would cruise to victory in November.

Her troubles grew last month, when the military contractor who pleaded guilty to bribing Representative Randy Cunningham, Republican of California, admitted funneling contributions to Ms. Harris's 2004 re-election campaign. She has not been charged with wrongdoing, and she denied knowing that the donations were illegal.

Democrats have seized on her ties to the contractor, Mitchell Wade, who was seeking federal money for a project in her district.

After her role in the recount, Ms. Harris became a favorite of conservatives and a potent Republican fund-raiser. In 2002, she won election to Congress in the 13th district, centered on Sarasota.

She first wanted to run for the Senate in 2004, when Senator Bob Graham, a Democrat, retired. Republicans dissuaded her, fearing that her presence would energize Democrats still smarting from the recount and hurt Mr. Bush's re-election chances as he campaigned in this pivotal state.

Nor did Republican leaders rejoice when Ms. Harris, granddaughter of a citrus and cattle baron, announced last June that she would challenge Mr. Nelson in 2006. The White House and Gov. Jeb Bush even tried to recruit other candidates, which Ms. Harris said stung.

''Of course, I would enjoy their support and their enthusiasm tremendously,'' she said.

Ms. Harris said her father, who died in January, would have wanted her to spend her inheritance, which she described as ''everything that I have,'' on the race.

''This levels, temporarily, the playing field,'' she said. ''We are at ground zero. We are recharged, restarting and ready to win.''

As of Dec. 31, Ms. Harris had $1 million on hand while Mr. Nelson had $8 million. She had already contributed $250,000 of her own money. Even if she spends her fortune, her husband, Anders Ebbers, owns a company worth up to $25 million, her 2004 financial disclosure reported.